California Grubbin'

food: 3/5 experience: 3.5/5 overall: 3.5/5 We were in the area one day and since we're hardly ever way out in Rocklin we decided to try some place new. So we got some soosh at Kakogan. I ordered my standard sashimi dish. I thought the nine-ounce sashimi would be a paltry lil bit cus nine ounces don't sound like a whole lot but hot damn now I'm wondering exactly how much these other places were really giving me cus this is plate full. There are six different kinds of fish on there along with roe and lemon, and my favorite wasabi of course. Their wasabi is good, I ate it in like four bites. At $23 this is a good deal. Next up I tried their rolls. Their menu of rolls isn't too impressive so I just tried a few. Unfortunately for me every sauce of theirs has either soy or sesame in it so I was stuck with sriracha. The Chris roll is made with cream cheese which is the main reason I got it. Cream cheese and sushi is always a dealmaker for me. This one is good

food: 5/5 experience: 4.5/5 overall: 5/5 Penguin's is a small chain of excellent fro-yo in Los Angeles. They used to have many locations but now have just the three, in West LA, South Pasadena and Marina Del Rey. Two is plenty for me. I love the place of Penguin. My first Penguin's was the one in Culver City. I had been making eyes with it for a year, they being on my various routes to and from wherever. Semi-starving after a visit to LMU, I found myself in here. I got a small yogurt in a medium cup to make room for the toppings that inevitably take up half my dish, and if I'm not mistaken was only charged for the small. The yogurt? Sweet. Sweet as in sweet, sweet as in yes-thank-you-universe-I-needed-this awesome. I was presented with a "buy twelve, get one free" card, but the chances of me spending fifty bucks on Penguin's were slim to none, so I declined. A sweet, creamy, and tart-flavored moment of seclusion. Ahhhh. I felt replenished, if only

food: 3.5/5 experience: 3.5/5 overall: 3.5/5 This was my second time at KBBQ. And yes, with a packed-to-the-brim restaurant, multiple recommendations, rumors of super long wait times without the ability to reserve a table under ten, and a completely overstuffed parking lot, this has to be objectively the best restaurant in San Jose so I had to try it. They have 37 options of meat. 37! Their banchan selection, I was told, is not the most varied as compared to other restaurants, and I also heard they charged for any leftovers. Oh yeah, and you'll probably walk out of there smelling like beef. First, the wait really wasn't that bad on a Tuesday night. In fact, we got in right away. Second, the parking is fine! I don't know what those people are talking about. The parking lot is huge and the spaces aren't small. Maybe they went to some Gen in an alternate universe. Third, I don't think we got charged for uneaten food. I dunno I didn't pay. Fourth, yes the ba

food: 4.5/5 experience: n/a it's to go overall: 4.5/5 Okay so if you're in Sac and in need of a good bakery, and you haven't heard of Mahoroba, you need to get on it now . This is like Porto's-tier baked goods for me. (Porto's is an amazing bakery in LA, review to come.) Everything here is a home run. And I have had just about everything. Let's start in chronological order from my very first trip. In here we have the hot dog (top right), the blueberry cream cheese pie (middle right), pie custard (bottom right), sweet cream cheese (bottom left), and kobe cream delight (top left). Now let me tell you about how good these are. If you can't decide between having a hot dog and a pizza, go to Mahoroba and get their hot dog. It's a juicy dog on a bun with cheese and sweet tomato sauce and it's everything delicious. The pie custard is like a cheese horn you get at a typical bakery with sweet cream and a hint of cream cheese, all wrapped in a perf

food: 4/5 experience: 4/5 overall: 4/5 Red Rabbit is a bar. No, they do not serve rabbit. Unfortunately. And no, their restaurant is not themed after that big rabbit in the Sacramento airport. But it is a nice bar nonetheless. Nice because it doesn't have sports TVs blasting everywhere so it isn't too crowded, especially on a Sunday when they serve brunch. And it's also nicely decorated. And the people there are nice and the service is nice and the food is nice. Noice. French toast: 5/5 I think this is great. My dining partner doesn't like sourdough for French toast because it's hard to cut but the sourdough gives it a slight tang. Doesn't hurt that this is soaked in custard and syrup. Delicious. Definitely better than their plain old sourdough toast (mom: you're boring). Breakfast burrito: 4.5/5 Pulled pork in a breakfast burrito is just a great idea. They put plenty along with eggs, potatoes and cheese, all wrapped in a very soft, delicious

food: 5/5 experience: 5/5 overall: 5/5 Tl;dr come for the muffins. With about fifteen locations scattered throughout the greater Sactown area, La Bou is as much of a staple as Temple Coffee (but definitely a lot better). There is nothing like a big fat La Bou muffin top to start the morning off right. Muffins = bomb best in Sac. Only one I didn't like is peach bran. Weird combo but it looks like they don't sell that anymore and replaced it pumpkin. Which by the way is fucking amazing and sold year-round now hells ja. Blueberry bran: 5/5 Somehow this unexpected combo works. Blueberry muffins are delicious. Bran muffins are delicious. Put them together, boom. Weirdly enough (or perhaps not - old people like their bran) this one is consistently sold out. Raspberry lemon 5/5 Raspberry and lemon really complement each other here. It's got crystal granules on top making it even sweeter. Very cake-y and amazing. This was a regular for me in eighth grade. Mixed b

food: 5/5 experience: 5/5 overall: 5/5 Forget Temple . If you want pastries come here. These are among the best I've had yet in my journey through the brunch venues of Sactown. In terms of the pastry case, I've tried... Strawberry almond buttermilk muffin: 5/5 Did not know buttermilk was an option for muffins. This needs to be done more often. Very flavorful. Peach rosemary scone with white chocolate chips: 4/5 Only taste the peach in this, not the rosemary or white chocolate. Regardless it's great. Oatmeal cookie: 3.5/5 A little too sweet for me. It looks like a small scone, not a traditional flat cookie, so it's substantial. Especially with the oats. Garlic cheddar scone: 4/5 Really tasty. They put whole garlic in it. Yum. The cheese isn't overpowering. A nice savory pastry for a change. French toast muffin: 5/5 I saw this on the way out after the Mexican bread pudding. French toast muffin r-u-serious? I have to try this, says I.